Steel merchandising system

ABSTRACT

A system for vertically storing and displaying elongated articles such as steel rods or the like. A stationary base rotatably supports a tall cylindrical storage rack. A platform with a peripheral rim holds the bottom ends of articles while the top ends are retained by upper braces. The braces include a centered spacer which creates a relief region above it. The articles are removed by lifting to clear the bottom rim and tilted so that the top ends swing into the relief region. The rack is divided into pie-shaped product homes by spokes extending from the spacers. The system may be a stand-alone unit with more than one rack, or a single rack coupled at the top to a support structure. The system also includes outer surfaces on which to display general and specific product information and may also include receptacles for fasteners to be used with the elongated articles.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to rotatable storage units for efficientlystoring a number of different types of elongated articles vertically sothat selection of and access to the articles is maximized.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is customary to place pipe, long rods, long angle and channel ironsand the like on the floors of factories, warehouses, or the like, forease of handling. This arrangement presents a serious loss of space andconsiderable shifting of the bars and pipes is often necessary in orderto obtain the desired length or size of article which may be at thebottom of the pile. In hardware or building supply retailers, however,the elongated articles cannot be stored on the floor and are typicallystored upright in bins. The articles must be withdrawn from the bins bylifting up and over any supporting structure which is often a difficultand awkward task. Furthermore, there is a limited amount of displayspace available throughout a hardware store yet the space immediatelybehind the bin is often wasted as there is not enough merchandise tofill that space. Typically, large scaffolding frames supporting durableshelving is installed in hardware stores to maximize the tall ceilingstorage space. These scaffold structures often have up to a three-footdepth which is wasted by utilizing vertical bins for storing elongatedarticles.

Several devices for storing elongated articles in cylindrical unitscapable of being rotated are known. In particular, in U.S. Pat. No.2,526,245, issued to Lathrop, a rotatable support apparatus for pipes isshown. A tubular upright mast 19 is rotatably supported at a lower endon a bearing 12. A platform 21, horizontally fixed at the lower end ofthe tubular mast 19, supports a number of elongated articles extendingvertically upward which are retained by an upper circular band or ring42. Partition walls are provided to segregate the elongated articlesaccording to size or for other reasons. The support apparatus of Lathropsuffers, however, from the sometimes difficult procedure of withdrawingarticles. Specifically, if the support apparatus is filled withelongated articles, it is difficult to withdraw one article from withinthe solidly packed bunch of articles.

The present invention provides a space-efficient storage and displayunit which overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an article merchandising system,particularly useful for storing elongated steel articles such as angleiron, square and round tubing, rods, etc. However, although the presentinvention is described and shown in terms of a fairly large ruggedsystem for storing articles found in typical hardware or building supplystores, the inventive aspects may be incorporated into devices forstoring other long items as well. The present merchandising system isdesigned to be a space-efficient unit having separate storagecompartments for various items with a high level of visibility of theitems and ready access thereto. In addition to the improved storage andretrieval aspects, the merchandising system incorporates an enhanceddisplay and item identification feature resulting in a clearlyunderstandable, self-serve unit especially suited for large hardware andbuilding supply stores having a minimum of sales personnel.

The merchandising system comprises a base, a rugged bearing, and a tallcylindrical upright storage rack rotatably mounted on the bearing, thestorage rack having an upper central pipe sized to extend into arotation support sleeve. A cross bar may be provided having a rotationsupport sleeve for receiving the upper central pipe of the storage rack,the cross bar being adapted to mount between elements of a large storagescaffold, as commonly found in building supply outlets. The base of themerchandising system is preferably bolted to the floor of the warehouseor retail outlet so that the merchandising system is rigidly attached atthe bottom and is also bolstered at the top by the cross bar andscaffolding structure. The cylindrical storage rack rotates about thelower bearing in the base and within the sleeve of the cross bar,defining a vertical axis of rotation along the central axis of thecylindrical rack.

The cylindrical storage rack comprises a lower circular platform onwhich bottom ends of articles rest, a plurality of upstanding legsmounted proximate the periphery of the platform, an upper supportstructure stage at the top of the legs, and at least one intermediatearticle brace for supporting the top ends of the articles upright. Abottom lip or peripheral band around the circumference of the platformretains the bottom ends of the articles within the rack. A portion ofthe intermediate article brace is defined by a peripheral retaining bandpreferably attached outside of the upright support legs.

A plurality of spacers are centered on the storage rack axis at theplatform and at every intermediate article brace. The spacers arerigidly attached to the upright legs and aforementioned peripheral bandsby struts or spokes, thus defining a plurality of truncated pie-shapedregions between the outer edge of the spacers and the peripheral bands.The pie-shaped regions represent product homes which segregate thearticles into categories. Desirably, a corresponding number of producthomes exist in the platform and in the intermediate braces. Articles aresegregated into the various product homes depending on type, size,material, application, etc. Articles thus rest on the platform withtheir bottom ends retained in lower portions of the product homesdefined by the spokes in the platform. Upper portions of the producthomes, directly above the lower portions, and defined by the spokes inthe intermediate article braces, support the top ends of the articles inorder to hold the articles upright. The storage rack may then be rotatedto present different product homes to the customer.

The central spacers bar articles from around the central vertical axisof the storage rack creating a hollow cylindrical volume within therack. The hollow regions above the intermediate article braces provide arelief cavity in which to tilt the upper ends of articles when removingthe articles from the rack. A typical removal procedure involves liftingthe bottom end of an article over the bottom lip of the platform andpulling the bottom end outward from the rack. The top end thus tiltsinto the central relief cavity, the article pivoting about the edge ofthe spacer in the intermediate brace. The article is withdrawn until thetop end clears underneath the retaining band around the intermediatebrace, whereupon the article is free from the rack and can be tippedback vertically.

In the simplest embodiment of the merchandising system of the presentinvention, the storage rack includes one intermediate brace in order tostore one or more lengths of articles. The storage rack includes aminimum of three vertical support legs and thus a minimum of threespokes extend outward from the spacers in the platform and intermediatebrace to each leg. In this simple embodiment, therefore, three producthomes are created for storing one to three different types of articles.

In a preferred embodiment, however, the storage rack accommodates atleast two lengths of articles and includes four upright supporting legs.This storage rack includes at least two intermediate braces verticallyspaced above the platform. A first intermediate brace includes a firstspacer and one spoke to each of at least two legs, the spokes definingat least one product home for shorter articles. The first spacer may bea quarter-, semi-, or three-quarter circle requiring two, three or fourspokes minimum, respectively. Thus, shorter articles are stored in thevertical truncated pie-shaped volumes defined by spokes of the platformand the first intermediate brace. A second intermediate brace, mountedacross the legs above the first intermediate brace, provides an uppersupport for longer articles. The second brace includes a second spacerabove the cut-out portion of the first spacer, the second spacer havinga quarter-, semi- or three-quarter circular shape requiring two, three,or four spokes minimum, respectively.

Preferably, the first and second spacers are semicircular and includethree primary spokes to three of the upright legs plus a plurality ofsecondary spokes between the primary spokes to define smaller producthomes. The secondary spokes extend between the spacers and the outerretaining band. The platform includes a corresponding number of spokesto define the lower portion of the product home. Thus, for example, thestorage rack may be slightly taller than the longest article and thesecond intermediate brace is located just below the upper supportstructure stage in order to retain the top ends of taller articles inthe product homes arranged around one-half of the cylindrical rack. Thefirst intermediate brace then mounts to the support legs slightly belowthe height of the shorter articles. The first intermediate brace thusretains the top ends of the shorter articles in product homes arrangedaround a second half of the cylindrical rack. For added support, avertical center pole may be attached to the center of the two partialspacers and to the center of the upper support structure stage.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, more than onedifferent length of article may be stored in a rack having only oneintermediate brace. In the previous configuration, the intermediatebraces were disposed slightly below the top ends of articles so thatwhen tilting the bottom end out, the top end pivots into the centralrelief cavity only a short distance, and thus the central spacers may besized quite small. With the use of larger central spacers, however, alarger central relief cavity is formed and there is more room into whichthe top ends of the articles may be tilted. As a result, the top ends ofarticles having a limited difference in length may be supported by anintermediate brace having a relatively large central spacer. The braceis positioned slightly below the top end of the shortest articles sothat the top end of the longer articles extends upward a certaindistance farther. When removing the longer articles, the top end swingsinto the central relief cavity, which is of a sufficient width topreclude contact with articles on the opposite sides of the spaceracross the cavity. In fact, the longer articles may be tilted nearlyhorizontal prior to being withdrawn due to the wide relief cavity.

In accordance with another important aspect of the merchandising systemof the present invention, the rotatable storage rack may be dividedvertically by a second article support platform. The second platformdivides the rack into lower and upper storage areas in order to maximizethe storage efficiency in the volume above the base. Ideally,intermediate length articles are stored in the lower storage area whileshorter length, lighter weight articles are stored above in the upperstorage area.

In a preferred embodiment of the merchandising system having thecapacity for storing multiple intermediate article lengths and shorterarticle lengths, the storage rack comprises a platform with a centralspacer having a plurality of outwardly extending spokes joined to fourupstanding legs and to a bottom lip around the periphery of theplatform, a first intermediate brace for supporting the top ends ofarticles resting on the platform, a second article support platformabove the first brace for supporting shorter articles and a secondintermediate brace bolstering the top ends of the shorter articles, inaddition to the aforementioned upper support structure stage andupwardly extending rotation support pipe.

With respect to another aspect of the merchandising system of thepresent invention, a preferred product information display system isincorporated in order to facilitate simple identification and removal ofthe various stored products. The display system comprises descriptivelabels applied to the exterior surfaces of the various peripheralretaining bands. In a preferred embodiment, each of the intermediatebraces includes a 3-inch wide peripheral retaining band sufficient toreceive labels having detailed product information. Moreover, separatelabels are used to identify products within each product home, definedbetween the spokes. It is a simple matter to install and replace labels,thus providing a great degree of merchandising freedom.

Additionally, wider bands may be provided to display other, moredetailed product or application information, or for other marketingpurposes. In the preferred configuration having a vertically dividedstorage rack, the band surrounding the second article support platformis approximately 6 inches wide. This enlarged band is used to displayoverall product information, such as drawings of the articles within thestorage rack, or may identify groups of articles within one quadrant ofthe rack, for example. The smaller bands are then used to describespecific lengths, materials, shapes or sizes within individual producthomes. The merchandising system therefore provides a compact,accessible, easy to use storage rack with a handy reference guide forgeneral and specific needs.

The merchandising system is designed to storage elongated, typicallymetallic articles, such as angle iron, square and round tubing, rods,etc. In order to enhance the usefulness of the merchandising system, oneor more partitioned trays for holding fasteners or the like is alsoprovided. Such a tray may have a circular bottom with shallow verticalpartitions extending from the center outward to join with a peripheralwall, thus creating a plurality of pie-shaped receptacles.Advantageously, the tray is mounted to the legs of the storage rack andincludes a number of receptacles corresponding to the number of producthomes, although other configurations are possible. In the verticallydivided storage rack, as an example, the tray is mounted below thesecond article support platform a sufficient distance to create a gaplarge enough for viewing and accessing the fasteners. In accordance withthe integrated storage and display system of the present invention,identification labels may be applied to the exterior surface of theperipheral tray wall in order to identify the separated fasteners or thelike.

In still another embodiment, the merchandising system comprises two ormore storage racks and functions as a stand-alone unit. For instance,two upright cylindrical storage racks may be rotatably mounted on onebase and have their upper ends coupled for stability. The added width ofthe base and upper coupling of the racks eliminates the need for bracingthe merchandising system to an existing scaffold structure and thesystem may therefore be installed in any business having a sufficientlytall ceiling.

In one preferred embodiment, the merchandising system comprises twostorage racks rotatably mounted side-by-side on the base; one rackcapable of storing and displaying articles having lengths of between 1and 4 feet, and the other rack capable of storing articles of between 5and 6 feet long. In the preferred embodiment, front and rear verticalbeams are attached to the base intermediate to racks, the beamsextending upward to a connecting beam thus forming a generally invertedU-shape. A rack constraining beam mounts across the center of theconnecting beam, the rack constraining beam extending transversely overthe upper axles of the storage racks. The upper axles loosely fit withinapertures in the constraining beam so that the racks are supported fromtipping front or back by the inverted U-shaped beam structure.

An alternative fastener or other small article storage and displayassembly is preferably utilized in the stand-alone merchandising system.A plurality of receptacles are vertically stacked and mounted to thefront vertical support beam rather than having a partitioned tray withinthe storage racks themselves. The small article storage and displayassembly generally comprises a trapezoidal-shaped open-ended box stoodon one end with a number of horizontal shelves mounted within, a frontbarrier being provided for each shelf for retaining articles. Theassembly is attached to the front vertical beam with the receptaclesfacing forward and the narrow side of the trapezoid pointing between thecylindrical storage racks.

In order for the storage rack of the present invention to rotate easilywithout fear of fatigue failure, extra heavy-duty bearings are providedbetween the rack and the base. These bearings are engineered forextremely heavy use for long life of the merchandising system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is perspective view of a preferred embodiment of themerchandising system of the present invention and an upper supportstructure;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the merchandising system of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a middle article support of the merchandisingsystem of FIG. 1 taken along lines 3--3 of FIG. 2

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of themerchandising system also showing an adjustable upper mountingstructure;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a dual storage rack stand-alonemerchandising system of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Merchandising System forIntermediate and Short Articles

A merchandising system 20 for storing and displaying elongated articlesis shown in FIG. 1. The merchandising system 20 generally comprises aflat base 22, an upright cylindrical storage rack 24 rotatably supportedon the base by a hub or bearing 26, and an upper rotation support pipe28 extending from the top surface of the storage rack. The bearing 26defines an axis of rotation of the system 20. The merchandising system20 is designed to retain elongated articles 27 such as, for example,tubes, long pieces of steel or iron, threaded rods and the like. In thisregard, the merchandising system 20 is relatively large and ruggedlyconstructed. The merchandising system 20 also retains shorter articles29 in an upper portion. Preferably, the merchandising system 20comprises elements of steel which are welded together. However, as willbe apparent from the description of the inventive aspects of the presentinvention, the merchandising system may be constructed smaller and withdifferent, perhaps less sturdy materials, and used to support anddisplay a wide array of smaller and/or lighter articles.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the storage rack 24 rotatably supportedon the base 22 generally comprises a primary floor or platform 30, fourupstanding legs 32 mounted to the platform, a first intermediate articlebrace 34, a secondary article support platform 36, a second intermediatearticle brace 38 and an upper support structure stage 40. The storagerack 24 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is divided into an upper article storagearea 42 and a lower article storage area 44. In general, intermediatelength articles 27 rest on the primary platform 30 and have their topends supported by the first intermediate article brace 34. Articles ofshorter length 29 are retained in the upper article storage area 42 withthe bottom ends resting on the secondary article support floor orplatform 36 and the top ends being bolstered upright by the secondintermediate article brace 38.

The base generally comprises a square flat rigid plate which includesthrough holes for bolting the base to a foundation (not shown), such asthe floor of a building supply outlet. Although the bearing 26 is shownschematically, a stationary lower portion attaches to the base 22 bycorner welding or other means and a rotating portion attaches to thestorage rack 24. The bearing 26 may be any number of rugged bearings. Aswill be apparent from the following description, the storage rackextends upward to a height of 7 feet and the articles stored within thestorage rack are typically steel rods and bars, thus the weightsupported by the bearing is quite substantial. The preferred bearing 26includes a plurality of roller bearings (not shown) distributed in aconical pattern to provide both rotational and thrust support and ensurea relatively long life of the merchandising system 20. A plurality ofoutwardly extending reinforcing ribs 46 are welded to the stationarylower portion of the bearing 26. In the preferred embodiment, there arefour reinforcing ribs 46 in a cross pattern which extend outward toprevent the bearing 26 from tilting. The reinforcing ribs 46 are weldedboth to the bearing 26 and to the upper surface of the base 22.Desirably, the reinforcing ribs 46 are flat steel pieces with relativelyhigh resistance to bending about axes running through the thin crosssection.

The primary platform 30 of the merchandising system 20 generallycomprises a circular bottom plate 48 surrounded by a peripheralretaining band or lip 50 and a central disk-shaped spacer 52 havingoutwardly extending spokes 54. Both the bottom plate 48 and the centralspacer 52 include a central aperture through which the bearing 26protrudes. The bottom plate 48 and central spacer 52 are welded to arotating portion of the bearing 26. The lip 50 has a sufficient width toprovide a peripheral retainer for the bottom ends of articles 27 placedon the primary platform 30. The central spacer 52 is spaced slightlyabove the bottom plate 48 and the spokes 54 are welded to the undersideof the central spacer and, at their other ends, to either the peripherallip 50 or one of the four upstanding legs 32. Due to the spacing betweenthe spacer 52 and bottom plate 48, the outer end of the spokes 54 thusjoin to locations on the lip 50 and legs 32 slightly spaced above thebottom plate 48.

In one embodiment, there are a total of 16 spokes 54 in the primaryplatform 30. The spokes 54 extend outward from the spacer 52 with anequivalent spacing therebetween to divide the region between the spacerand the lip 50 into equal truncated pie-shaped sections 56. As will befurther clarified below, each pie-shaped section 56 defines a lowerportion of a product home for segregating articles stored in the storagerack 24.

The first intermediate article brace 34 is attached to the fourupstanding legs 32 at a distance above the primary platform 30sufficient to brace the top ends of articles 27 resting on the platform.The first intermediate article brace 34 generally comprises an outerretaining band 58 welded to the outside of the upstanding legs 32, acentral disk-shaped spacer 60, and a plurality of spokes 62 welded bothto the central spacer and to the peripheral retaining band or upstandinglegs. A nut tray 64 is attached to the legs 32 slightly above thearticle brace 34, and will be described below. The central spacer 60 andattached spokes 62 mount to the lower edge of the retaining band and tosimilar locations on the upstanding legs 32. There are a correspondingnumber of spokes 62 as the number of spokes 54 in the primary platform30. Thus, a similar number of truncated pie-shaped sections 66 arecreated by the spokes 62 as in the primary platform 30. The upper andlower pie-shaped sections 56, 66 between the spokes 54, 62 combine todefine a product home for elongated articles 27 resting on the platform30. In this respect, the bottom end of a particular article 27 isretained within a lower pie-shaped section 56 in the primary platform 30and the top end is retained within an associated upper pie-shapedsection 66 directly above. The elongated article is held within thestorage rack 24 by both the lower lip 50 and intermediate retaining band58 and is held a certain distance from the central axis of themerchandising system 20 by the central spacers 52, 60. Thus, there isprovision for 16 various types of elongated articles to be retainedwithin the 16 product homes created by the primary platform 30 andintermediate article brace 34.

The nut tray 64 is comprised of a flat bottom 68, an outer circular nutbarrier 69 and a plurality of upstanding partitions 70. The bottom 68 isa generally circular plate having four square peripheral cutouts toaccommodate the four square cross section legs 32. The partitions 70 aredisposed in a star shape across the bottom 68 and generally divides thenut tray 64 into a plurality of pie-shaped receptacles 74 for storingfasteners or other small objects to be used with elongated articles heldin the upper or lower article storage area 42, 44. The nut tray 64 maybe rigidly attached to the upstanding legs 32 a short distance above thefirst brace 34 or, alternatively, at the level of the first brace, inwhich case the partitions are welded to the retaining band 58 which thusforms the nut barrier 69. As shown in FIG. 2, a vertical space 76 existsbetween the first intermediate article brace 34 and the second articlesupport platform 36. The space 76 is determined by the amount of roomnecessary to view, select and remove a fastener in the nut tray 64.

As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, the secondary article support platform 36is also welded securely to the four upstanding legs 32, and generallycomprises a circular base portion 78, a wide peripheral retaining band80, a central disk-shaped spacer 82 and a plurality of spokes 84extending outwardly from the spacer to the peripheral band andupstanding legs 32. The generally circular base 78 is disposed slightlybelow the top edge of the retaining band 80 and is welded thereto inaddition to being welded to the legs 32 at peripheral square cutouts.The central spacer 82 is positioned a distance above the base 78 so thatthe outwardly extending spokes 84 contact the upper edge of theretaining band 80, with four of the spokes 84 welded directly to theupstanding legs 32. Thus, a plurality of truncated pie-shaped sections88 are formed in an identical manner as the pie-shaped sections 66 inthe primary platform 30. The pie-shaped sections 88 thus comprise thelower portion of a product home in the upper article storage area 42.The bottom ends of elongated articles 29 are placed in the pie-shapedsection 88 and are restrained by the spokes 84, the central spacer 82and the outer retaining band 80.

The distribution of the spokes 84 is clearly seen from above in FIG. 3.In the secondary article support platform 36, the spokes 84 attach tothe underside of the central spacer 82 and then extend outward to theperiphery. It will be noted that the spokes of the present invention maybe attached to the lower or upper side of the spacers, dependent onwhether the particular spacer is located at the upper or lower end ofthe corresponding platform or brace. More specifically, the lowestcentral spacer 52 in the primary platform 30 is located at the upper endof the platform, and is visible from above so that it is preferable toattach the spokes 54 to the underside of the spacer. Likewise, thecentral spacer 82 of the secondary article support platform 36 may beviewed from above and thus the spokes are also attached to the undersideof the spacer for aesthetic reasons.

The second intermediate article brace 38 is attached to the upstandinglegs 32 a certain distance above the secondary article support platform36 and provides a support for the top ends of elongated articles 29resting on the platform. A peripheral retaining band 90 is attached tothe outer side of the legs 32 and a central disk-shaped spacer 92 isattached to the peripheral band and to the legs via a plurality ofspokes 94. The spokes 94 divide the second intermediate article brace 38into truncated pie-shaped regions 96 representing upper portions ofproduct homes in the upper article storage area 42. Elongated articles29 rest on the secondary article support platform 36 with the top endsbolstered upright by the second article brace 38. It is generallypreferable to attach the secondary article support platform 36 to theupstanding legs 32 at a height above the mid-point of storage rack 24 sothat shorter articles of lighter weight may be stored in the upperstorage area 42.

The upper support structure stage 40 generally comprises a circularplate 98 having a peripheral downwardly depending skirt 100. The upperrotation support pipe 28 is welded to the top surface of the plate 98and includes triangular reinforcing gussets 102 for rigidity. Thegussets 102 are distributed in an even manner around the pipe 28. Theupper end of the pipe fits within a receiving sleeve of a fixed supportstructure. The stage 40 may be any other configuration suitable formounting the upper support structure.

One upper support and bracing structure is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 andcomprises a bracket or crossbeam member 103 attached at end flanges 105to a fixed scaffold 107 and having a downwardly depending tube 108. Thepipe 28 fits loosely in the tube 108, thus providing a relativelylow-friction rotational support. The entire storage rack 24 thus rotatesabout its central axis by virtue of the lower bearing 26 and upper pipe28 within the support tube 108.

Various lengths, shapes, sizes, or materials of elongated articles areplaced within the product homes of the upper and lower article storageareas 42, 44. The elongated articles may be removed from the storagerack 24 by slightly lifting the article so that the bottom end clearsthe respective retaining band in one of the platforms whereupon thebottom end is swung outward and the article removed. It is important tonote that, when being removed, the elongated articles pivot about theouter edge of the spacers 60, 92 in the first and second intermediatearticle braces 34, 38. The tilting of the elongated articles causes thetop ends to swing into the middle of the storage rack 24 which is keptclear by the provision of the central spacers. In fact, with the storagerack 24 completely filled with elongated articles, the spacers in theintermediate article braces 34, 38 create a central relief cavity abovethem to provide the room within which the top end of the article mayswing when removing the article. The diameter of the central reliefcavity depends on the diameter of the spacers and the size alsodetermines the angle at which the elongated articles may be tilted, themaximum tilt angle also depending on the height of the article above thespacer.

In the lower article storage area 44, the elongated articles 27 may beapproximately 3 feet tall and the first intermediate article brace 34 isthus disposed slightly less than 3 feet above the primary platform 30.The spokes 62 are at a height slightly below the top end of the 3-footarticles. The bottom 68 of the nut tray 64 is located a sufficientdistance above the top end of the 3-foot articles to allow the articlesto be lifted over the lip 50 of the primary platform 30. Due to theclose fit between the nut tray 64 and spokes 62, only a small range ofsizes of elongated articles may be stored in the lower storage area 44.

To the contrary, the upper article storage area 42 is capable ofsupporting elongated articles 29 of different lengths. In a preferredembodiment, the second intermediate article brace 38 is locatedapproximately 1 foot above the secondary article support platform 36.Thus, articles having a length of 1 foot may rest on the secondaryplatform 36, their top ends being supported in the pie-shaped sections96 formed by the spokes 94. Due to the clearance between the secondintermediate article brace 38 and the stage 40, longer articles,preferably up to 2 feet, may fit between the secondary platform 36 andthe stage. It is a simple matter to remove the 1-foot long articles astheir top ends do not swing very far into the central relief cavity. The2-foot long articles, on the other hand, may be removed by lifting overthe retaining band 80 and tilting the bottom end of the article outward.The top end of the article swings into the central relief cavity abovethe central spacer 92. The 2-foot long article has approximately 1 footextending above the spacer 92 and the spacer is preferably large enoughto accommodate the top end so that the article may be tilted until itcan be removed.

In one preferred embodiment, the base 22 comprises a square of 22 incheson each side and the cylindrical storage rack 24 has a diameter of 22inches. Each of the retaining bands 50, 58, 80 and 90, as well as theupper skirt 100, comprise loops having a diameter of 22 inches. Thecentral spacers 52, 60, 82 and 92 are preferably 12 inches in diameter.The distance between the outer edges of the spacers and the retainingbands is thus 5 inches and the spokes preferably have a lengthsufficient to contact the outer retaining bands and to overlap thespacers somewhat. Most preferably, the spokes have a length of 6 inchesand overlap the central spacers by 1 inch (as seen in FIG. 3). Thelength of the upright legs 32 is preferably 77 inches; the distance fromthe primary platform 30 to the first intermediate article brace 34 isapproximately 3 feet, the distance between the first brace to thesecondary platform 36 is approximately 1 foot, the distance from thesecondary platform to the second intermediary article brace 38 isapproximately 1 foot and the distance from the second brace to the stageis also approximately 1 foot. The extra 5 inches is accounted for by theroom provided immediately above the spokes to lift the articles whenremoving.

In accordance with an important aspect of the merchandising system 20, aversatile product display system is incorporated. Various productinformation labels are applied to the exterior surface of the retainingbands. General information pertaining to the shape or application ofparticular articles in the storage rack 24 is displayed on large displaylabels 104 adhered to the wide retaining band 80 in the secondaryarticle support platform 36. The wide retaining band 80 is preferablybetween 5 and 7 inches wide, and more preferably is 6 inches wide. Asubstantial amount of visual and/or sales information may be printed onthe large labels 104 to give the customer a sense of what is included inthe storage rack and what the articles may be used for. Furthermore, thelarge labels 104 may be placed from one leg to the next leg to disclosewhat type of articles are stored in that particular quadrant of thestorage rack 24. A plurality of smaller labels 106 disclose the contentsof each individual product home. The small labels 106 are adhered to theexterior surface of the retaining bands 58, 90 in the first and secondintermediate article braces 34, 38. This display system renders themerchandising system 20 a substantially self-serve item, and isadvantageous for the typical do-it-yourselfer searching through an oftencavernous building supply store. Typically, the elongated articlesstored within the merchandising system 20 require no further explanationthan what is given on the labels 104, 106.

Merchandising System for Tall Articles

An alternative embodiment of the merchandising system is shown in FIG.4. A storage rack 110 is rotatably supported on a base 112 by a bearing114 in a similar manner as was described previously. The storage rack110 generally comprises a floor 116, four upstanding legs 118, a numberof intermediate braces and an upper stage 120. An upper rotation pipe122, similar to that described before, is mounted to the stage 120. Alower central disk-shaped spacer 124 is attached to a locationapproximately 3 feet above the floor 116 on the legs 118. The spacer 124is attached to the legs 118 by four spokes 126. A short article brace128 is attached to two of the legs 118 and to a central support rod 130.The short article brace comprises a quarter circle plate 132 having fiveoutwardly extending spokes 134 attached to the underside of the quartercircle and to the two legs 118 or to a short arcuate retaining strip136. Slightly farther up the storage rack 110, an intermediate lengtharticle brace 138 comprises a central semi-circular spacer 140 attachedto the central rod 130 and having outwardly extending spokes 142contacting three of the four legs 118 or a generally semi-circularretaining band 144. A tall article brace 146 is attached to the centralrod 130 and to two of legs 118 or a peripheral skirt 148 slightly belowthe stage 120.

The bottom ends of short, intermediate and tall articles rest on thefloor 116, which is of a similar construction as the primary platform 30of the merchandising system 20 of FIG. 1. Thus, the floor 116 includesthe lower portion of 16 product homes. The shorter articles are placedin the four product homes in the quadrant below the short article brace128. Thus, the short articles stand upward and are supported at the topend by the short article brace 128. Intermediate length articles areplaced in the eight product homes in the floor 116 underneath theintermediate article brace 138. Thus, the top ends of the intermediatearticles are held within the upper portion of the respective producthomes defined by the spacer 140, spokes 142 and retaining band 144.Likewise, tall articles are placed in the four product homes in thequadrant of the floor 116 underneath the tall article brace 146 and thetop ends are held within the upper portion of the respective producthomes defined by the spokes in the tall article brace.

In one configuration, the storage rack 110 shown in FIG. 4 is suitablefor storing elongated articles of 5, 6 and 8 feet. In this respect, thestorage rack 110 is slightly greater than 8 feet tall, and morepreferably between 96 and 100 inches tall. Most preferably, the storagerack is 96 inches tall from the floor 116 to the stage 120. The tallarticle brace 146 is disposed under the skirt 148 of the stage 120, andthus 8-foot long articles resting on the floor 116 extend upward to havethe top ends supported by the tall article brace. Likewise, theintermediate article brace 138 is located slightly less than 6 feetabove the floor 116 to be capable of supporting the top ends of 6-footlong articles. The short article brace 128 is positioned slightly below5 feet from the floor 116 in order to support the top ends of 5-footlong articles. The lower central spacer 124 serves to support the legs118, and also to maintain the articles around a central hollow volume.

As per the previous discussion, the function of the central spacers inthe short and intermediate article braces 128, 138 preventing articlesfrom being stacked within the central relief cavity allows varyinglengths of articles to be supported. For example, the short articlebrace 128 may support articles greater than 5 feet tall up toapproximately 6 feet tall, and the intermediate article brace 138 mayprovide support for articles of between 6 and 7 feet tall.

The top end of the merchandising system, as shown in FIG. 4, issupported by a cross bar 150 fixedly attached at both ends to existingscaffolding members 152a, 152b, the scaffolding commonly used inhardware retail outlets or building supply stores for storing anddisplaying various goods. The cross bar 150 may be adjustable andinclude an outer square tubular member 154 and an inner square tubularmember 156 sized to slide within the outer member. The distal ends ofboth the outer and inner members 154, 156 include outwardly extendingflanges 158a, 158b having through holes 160 for bolting or otherwisefastening to the scaffolding members 152. An adjustment fastener 162extends through a hole in the outer member 154 and also through one of aseries of adjustment holes 164 in the inner member 156. Consequently,the span between the flanges 158 of both the inner and outer members maybe adjusted by changing the particular hole 164 used. This adjustment isadvantageous as the scaffolding members 152 may be spaced apart varyingdistances.

A downwardly depending sleeve 166 is sized to receive the upwardlyprojecting rotation support pipe 122 of the storage rack 110 or,alternatively, may be used to support the pipe 28 of the storage rack 24of FIG. 1. The sleeve 166 is preferably welded to the lower side of theouter member 154. In the drawing of FIG. 4, the scaffolding member 152afaces forward toward an aisle from which customers may view themerchandising system. Thus, due to the spacing between the sleeve 166and the front scaffolding member 152a, the storage rack 24 projectsslightly into the aisle for ease of removal of articles within. Thesleeve 166 is preferably constructed of tubular steel which loosely fitsaround the pipes 28, 122 without requiring any special bearing members.The cooperation between the pipes 28, 122 and the sleeve 166 provides ameasure of support for the upper end of the storage racks 24, 110, whichis particularly advantageous in regions requiring special bracing forlarge storage structures used in public places.

Dual Storage Rack Merchandising System

A merchandising system 168 shown in FIG. 5 incorporates two storageracks 170 and 172. The merchandising system 168 comprises a stand-aloneversion which also includes a separate fastener storage cabinet 174. Thetwo storage racks 170, 172 are coupled by a supporting frame 176 whichis bolted to the foundation of whatever building the merchandisingsystem 168 is installed. The frame 176 is preferably constructed ofheavy duty square tubular steel members, which provides a sufficientlevel of strength and stability to eliminate the need for connecting themerchandising system 168 at the upper end to an existing scaffolding.Consequently, the merchandising system 168 may be placed in any type ofbuilding having a ceiling height high enough to accommodate themerchandising system.

The support frame 176 comprises two transversely placed lower feetmembers 178a, 178b; a plurality, preferably four, of front-to-backrunning support bars 180; front and rear vertical beams or stanchions182; an upper connecting beam 184; and a top transverse cross beam 186designed to rotatably support and couple together the upper ends of thestorage racks 170, 172. The outer ends of the support feet 178 are cutoff at an angle to expose the inner surface of the bottom side which isflush with the foundation. A bolt hole and bolt may thus be accessed inthe exposed channel members. The lower support bars 180 are welded tothe inner sides of both feet 178 and extend across the depth of themerchandising system 168 in order to mount a support for two centralbearings 188a, 188b for the storage racks 170, 172, respectively. Thestructure for supporting the bearings 188a,b may be a simple cross beam(not shown) onto which the bearings are welded, or any other suitablystrong support means. The vertical stanchions 182 extend upward from thecenter of the feet 178 and are joined at the top across themerchandising system 168 by the connecting beam 184. The combination ofthe vertical stanchions 182 and connecting beam 184 forms an invertedU-shape which provides strength to the merchandising system 168 toprevent forward and backward tipping of the storage racks 170, 172. Thecross beam 186 is welded to the upper side of the connecting beam 184and includes through holes 190a, 190b into which upwardly extendingshafts 192a, 192b from the storage racks extend.

The left storage rack 170 is substantially similar to the storage rack24 of FIG. 1. Due to the provision of the central fastener storagecabinet 174, the nut tray 64 provided in the storage rack of FIG. 1 isnot necessary. Instead, the first intermediate article brace 194supports the top end of elongated articles of varying heights. Forexample, the brace 194 may be located approximately 3 feet above a lowerarticle support platform 196 and be capable of bolstering the top endsof articles of between 3 and 4 feet in length, the combination of theplatform and first brace thus forming a lower article storage area 198.An upper article storage area 200 is formed by a secondary articlesupport platform 202 and a second intermediate article brace 204. Thesecond article brace 204 is preferably spaced approximately 1 foot abovethe secondary platform 202, and an upper support stage 206 is spacedabove the second brace by another foot. The upper article support area200 thus provides the capacity for storing articles of between 1 and 2feet long.

The right hand storage rack 172 includes two intermediate spacers 208a,208b and a top end article brace 210 disposed approximately 5 feet abovea lower platform 212 and 1 foot below an upper stage 214. The storagerack 172 has the capacity for storing articles of between 5 and 6 feetin length, as an upper spacer 218, forming a part of the brace 210,provides the aforementioned central relief cavity. Both the left andright hand storage racks are supported by four identical upstandinglegs, preferably constructed of square steel tubing.

The fastener storage cabinet 174 comprises a tall open-ended cabinetvertically divided into fastener receptacles 220, which is mounted tothe front side of the front vertical stanchion 182. The fastener cabinet174 has a generally trapezoidal shape in horizontal cross section formedby a relatively narrow vertical back wall 222 and a pair of forwardlydiverging side walls 224a, 224b. The receptacles 220 divide the storagecabinet 174 into a plurality of storage bins for fasteners or othersmall objects, and each is formed by a horizontal shelf (not shown) anda front retaining wall 226 to prevent the fasteners from spilling fromthe receptacles.

Both of the storage racks 170, 172 and the fastener storage cabinet 174include surfaces on which to apply display labels. The left storage rack170 includes circular bands for applying general and more specificlabels, as described previously for the storage rack 24 of FIG. 1, whilethe right storage rack 172 includes a single circular band for applyingspecific labels. The front retaining walls 226 of the fastener storagecabinet 174 provide surfaces on which to apply identification labels forthe various types of fasteners stored in the receptacles 220. In short,the merchandising system 168 has a large storage capacity and provides acomplete information system for self-serve use by a customer to locatethe proper article and fastener.

Although this invention has been described in terms of certain preferredembodiments, other embodiments that are apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art are also within the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A merchandising system, comprising:a lowerplatform; a plurality of spaced legs attached to and extending upwardlyfrom the platform; an upper stage spaced above the platform and attachedto the legs whereby the lower platform, the legs and the upper stageform a rigid rack; a support structure attached to the upper stage; alateral support member mounted to the legs; and a primary spacer of asmaller size than said lower platform attached to the rack by aplurality of spokes, said spokes, primary spacer and lateral supportmember defining upper product homes, wherein upper ends of elongatedarticles placed on the platform and retained in said upper product homesare outwardly spaced from a central axis of said rack by said primaryspacer.
 2. The system of claim 1, comprising:a base; and a bearingmounted on the base defining a rotational axis aligned with said rackcentral axis, said lower platform being rotatably mounted on thebearing.
 3. The system of claim 2, comprising:a peripheral rim attachedto said lower platform, the legs and the spokes which extend outwardfrom a lower spacer, the rim defining an outer barrier of lower producthomes.
 4. The system of claim 2, wherein said upper stage supportstructure comprises:an upstanding pipe mounted on said upper stage andlaterally supported by a plurality of gussets;and wherein said systemcomprises: an upper support structure bracket adapted to mount to afixed member and provide rotational support for said pipe substantiallyalong said rotational axis.
 5. The system of claim 1, comprising:a lowerspacer of a smaller size than the platform attached to the legsvertically below said primary spacer at a location slightly above theplatform by a plurality of spokes, the spokes and lower spacer defininglower product homes.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein said primaryspacer is a circular disk.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein saidlateral support member is a circular band.
 8. The system of claim 1,wherein said primary spacer is a circular disk segment.
 9. The system ofclaim 1, comprising:an upper platform attached to said legs and spacedabove said lateral support member; and an upper article support attachedto said legs and spaced above said upper platform.
 10. The system ofclaim 1, comprising:a small article tray mounted to said legs above saidlateral support member having receptacles corresponding to each upperproduct home.
 11. The system of claim 1, comprising:display labels onthe exterior surface of said lateral support member for articles withineach of said upper product homes.
 12. The system of claim 2,comprising:a second bearing mounted on the base defining a secondrotational axis; a second lower platform rotatably mounted on saidsecond bearing; a second lower plurality of spaced legs attached to thesecond lower platform attached to and extending upwardly from the secondlower platform; a second lower upper stage spaced above the secondplatform and attached to the second lower plurality of legs whereby thesecond lower platform, the legs and the second upper stage form a secondrigid rack having a central axis coincident with said second rotationalaxis; a second support structure attached to the second upper stage andcoupled with said first support structure; a second lateral supportmember mounted to the legs; and a second primary spacer of a smallersize than the second lower platform attached to the rack by a pluralityof spokes, said spokes, second primary spacer and second lateral supportmember defining second upper product homes, wherein upper ends ofelongated articles placed on the second lower platform and retained insaid second upper product homes are outwardly spaced from the secondrack central axis by the second primary spacer.
 13. An article supportand display system, comprising:a base; a bearing mounted on the basedefining a rotational axis; a lower platform rotatably mounted on thebase; a plurality of spaced legs attached to the lower platform; anupper stage spaced above the lower platform and attached to the legswhereby the lower lower platform, the legs and the upper stage form arigid rack; a support structure attached to the upper stage; a firstarticle support brace disposed a first height above a first area segmentof said lower platform comprising a band mounted to the legs and aspacer attached to the legs by a plurality of spokes; and a secondarticle support brace disposed a second height above a second areasegment of said lower platform comprising a band mounted to the legs anda spacer attached to the legs by a plurality of spokes, wherein saidspokes, spacer and band in each article support brace define upperproduct homes for retaining upper ends of elongated articles spaced fromsaid rotational axis.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein said first andsecond article support braces are approximately half the size of saidlower platform in order to support articles in opposing halves of saidsystem above said lower platform.
 15. The system of claim 13, whereinsaid lower platform is circular.
 16. The system of claim 14, whereinsaid first and second area segments are semi-circular.
 17. The system ofclaim 13, comprising:a third article support brace disposed a thirdheight above a third area segment of said lower platform comprising aband mounted to the legs and a spacer attached to the legs by aplurality of spokes, wherein said first area segment is semi-circularand said second and third area segments are quarter circles.
 18. Thesystem of claim 13, comprising:display labels for articles within saidsystem on the exterior surface of said bands.
 19. A multiple lengtharticle storage system, comprising:a base structure including front andrear upstanding stanchions joined at the top by a connecting beam toform an inverted U-shape; an upper coupling beam attached to saidconnecting beam; and two article support racks having upper shaftsrotatably mounted to said coupling beam, each comprising:a lowerplatform; a plurality of legs attached to the lower platform spacedabout a perimeter of said lower platform; an upper stage spaced abovethe lower platform and attached to the legs whereby the lower platform,the legs and the upper stage form a rigid rack and said upper shaft ismounted on said upper stage; a lateral article support member mounted tothe legs; and a spacer of a smaller size than the lower platformattached to the legs by a plurality of spokes, said spokes, spacer and asurrounding band defining upper product homes, wherein upper ends ofelongated articles placed on the platform and retained in said upperproduct homes are spaced from a central axis of said rack by saidspacer.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein each storage rackcomprises:a plurality of lateral article support members for supportinga plurality of lengths of articles within each rack.
 21. The system ofclaim 19, comprising:a small article storage frame attached to said basestructure and vertically disposed between said storage racks,comprising: a plurality of small article receptacles having sidewalls toretain articles within.
 22. The system of claim 21, wherein said racksare spaced apart and said small article storage frame is positioned onsaid base structure between said racks forming a generally triangularconfiguration.
 23. The system of claim 19, wherein said racks arecylindrical.